The Ogun State High Court has convicted and fined an official of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Idowu Olamide, over certificate forgery.
The convict was charged with using a forged National Diploma certificate to secure an upgrade in his office, according to a statement released by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) on Tuesday.
The ICPC, which brought the charges against the convict, accused him of “knowingly making a false statement to the indictment charges”.
The commission said the alleged offence was contrary to Section 25(1) of Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 25(1) (b) of the same Act”.
The court was told how the convict presented a forged National Diploma Certificate in Automobile Engineering from Federal Polytechnic, Ilaro, Ogun State, to NSCDC to be upgraded to senior cadre.
He had earlier entered a “not guilty plea” when the charge was read to him in June 2021.
Mr Olamide, however, changed his plea during trial by approaching the court with a prayer for a plea bargain which was granted by the trial judge, A. A. Akinyemi.
The charge was then amended from two counts to one, which centered on making false statement with the intent to deceive a government agency.
Delivering judgment, the judge found the NSCDC official guilty, and following a passionate plea by his counsel, the court convicted him on a non-prison committal sentence of a fine of N100,000.
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